Tarbela 5th -extension project.
After the success on the 4th tunnel, ACET was invited to cover all diving activities for the 5th extension project.

The Tarbela Dam was built with five original tunnels, with the first three dedicated to hydropower generation, and the remaining two slated for irrigation use. The fourth phase extension project uses the first of the two irrigation tunnels, while the fifth phase extension will use the second irrigation tunnel. Tarbela Dam’s primary use is electricity generation. The installed capacity of the 4,888 MW Tarbela hydroelectric power stations will increase to 6,298 MW after completion of the planned fifth Extension.

Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority sought expressions of interest for the Tarbela-V Extension Project in August 2014, and was given final consent for construction.

Tarbela Dam is well protected and surrounded by many armed military and Water and Power Distribution Authority guards, to gain access, numerous check points must be cleared and the team must be a part of an official convoy as a vast part of the journey is on military roads. 3 containers loaded with commercial diving equipment had to be shipped from resp. Singapore, Thailand and Sri Lanka to the port of Karachi, followed by a 10-day drive over rural roads to the Karakoram mountains of North Pakistan. Temperatures in the Indus valley can soar up to 45 degrees Celsius in summer and plummet to below freezing in winter, intertwined by heavy storms that come rolling down the Himalaya’s. These strong seasonal changes, linked with an excess of meltwater during summer, give for an extremely small window for diving, which usually happens in the winter months when temperatures drop below freezing as does the water coming from the glaciers.